I was emotionally abused by my father well into my 30's. His favorite line to use was "you're such a stupid moron", "you're worthless", "you can never do anything right". My mother has very low self esteem too, so she also dealt with his abuse and she always made excuses for why he would make me cry. Needless to say, I haven't had any good relationships with men. I tend to lean on them too much for emotional support, and I think this has come off as looking too needy in the past. A friend says I need to get back online and start dating again. I am very lonely and would like to meet someone, but I'm afraid of being too needy. It's like the more people reject you, the needier you become. Has anyone been successful in dating when you don't feel very good about yourself?